Why Wash Fresh Fruit?
Why should I wash my fruit before eating it?
Answer: To avoid getting sick. Fresh fruit can sometimes contains harmful bacteria or viruses. When you wash your fruit properly, you get rid of anything that might be living on your fruit, waiting to make you or your family sick.
Young children, the elderly and pregnant women are most at-risk for contracting a foodborne illness, due to their weaker immune systems.
What you can do to protect yourself from foodborne illness:
Always wash fresh fruit. Wash it even if you aren't going to be eating the skin or rind. This prevents any bacteria and other harmful "bugs" or pesticides from being transferred from the skin, to the knife, to the inside of your fresh fruit.
Don't wash your fruit before you store it though, by doing this you increase the chance that mold will form and your fruit will spoil faster. Even if you purchase pre-washed items, wash them anyway. You don't know how well it was washed to begin with, or what may have come into contact with it between store and home.
How to do it:
Use the following fruit wash. It is inexpensive, organic, and takes no time to mix up.
Organic and Inexpensive Fruit wash
What you need:
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 cup water
What you do:
Put lemon juice, vinegar and water into a spray bottle and shake well.
Spray on fruit.
Rinse well with water.
How it works:
The lemon juice acts as a natural disinfectant and the acid from the vinegar neutralizes most pesticides.
You may of course, purchase produce washes that are ready to use, but they can be quite expensive.
Guidelines for washing fresh fruit:
Don't soak your fresh fruit in water, and do not use soap, bleach or detergents of any kind to get them clean. The products could be poisonous, and you may also change the taste of your fruit by doing this.
If you have firm fruit to wash, such as apples, you may want to scrub them with a clean fruit brush. For softer fruit, gently rubbing with your hands after you have sprayed with the fruit wash, and then rinsing will get your fruit clean and ready to eat.
Some fruit has a waxy coating to prevent bruising and molding and to keep them fresh. The wax is safe to eat, just follow the above guidelines to wash your fruit before eating it (washing won't remove the wax). You may also want to peel the fruit before eating (be sure to wash it first!) or purchase unwaxed fruit.
You may wash berries by placing them in a colander and spraying them with the fruit wash, then gently rinsing under the tap or with your kitchen sink sprayer (if you have one). Again, don't wash berries until you are ready to eat them, otherwise they will mold.
That's it! Your fresh fruit is ready for you to enjoy!
ARTICLE SOURCE: http://www.articlesbase.com/recipes-articles/why-wash-fresh-fruit-619612.html
